How Cliche
by raurassexiness
Summary: It's not very often the coolest girl in school comes up to you and invites you to a party. Or where nerdy and oblivious Austin tries to understand why golden girl Ally Dawson has taken a sudden interest in him.
1. Chapter 1

**Sigh. This is yet another arysa13 plot that I borrowed.**

**It's on the 100 archive of our own site. Please go check out her stories, she's awesome! It's called 'Your Eyes Could Make the Moon Jealous'.**

**So I made some minor changes to the plot, but I loved this story too much to not base a fanfic off of it, so enjoy!**

**And without further ado, let's get into it!**

**I talk too much!**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

"Do you want to come to a party?"

Austin snapped his head up so fast that he thought he would get whiplash. His eyebrows furrowed and they furrowed even more when they realized who was talking to him.

_Ally Dawson._

It's not often that the 'most popular' and 'prettiest' girl came up to people like him, people with no reputable social status, inviting them to a party.

He didn't even expect it. It was during lunch and he took his usual seat on the bench by the big oak tree. Not many people sat there as was off to the side. His two friends barely joined him for lunch as they preferred to spend their time in the computer lab. He didn't mind though, he liked the peace and quiet so that he could read his book.

He was never much of a people person. Which is why it is so surprising that Ally Dawson, herself was talking to him, far less for inviting him to a party. He wonders if she has the right person, given they've barely talked despite being in the same year.

"A party?" he responded dumbly and she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you know, a place where people gather to drink and dance and stuff."

"I know what a party is." He huffs.

"So?"

He bit into his apple, using that as an opportunity to think about his response. Her eyes were wide and expectant, it was almost too much that he had to look back down at his book.

He swallowed his bite in one gulp before looking back up into her chocolate brown eyes. "Um, I'm not sure. I have to babysit my sister most of the time." He said. It wasn't a complete lie, he did look after his sister a lot, just that she was allowed to stay home alone now.

"Oh." She responded looking a tad bit disappointed, he looked back down at his book to continue reading figuring the conversation was over. But she quickly smiled being the bubbly golden girl that she was. "Well, if you change your mind…" she motioned for his hand and he cautiously held it out. She smiled and as if on cue one of her many friends ran forward with a pen.

"This is my address. It'll be lots of fun and there will be loads of alcohol. Bring friends if you like!" she chirped as bent over to as she scribbled the address on his palm. His breath hitched softly as her skirt lifted slightly exposing more of her soft looking skin. He also didn't miss the way she smelled like vanilla.

She capped the pen and stood upright. He looked behind her to see her two best friends, Trish and Elliot, standing a little distance away as if they didn't want to get too close. He knew she had a lot of friends but he always saw these two around her so he assumed that they were her best friends. They were watching the scene amusedly.

He swallowed and looked back at her to see she was biting her lip and standing there awkwardly fidgeting with her hands, as if she wanted to say more but wasn't sure what to say.

He awkwardly scratched the back of neck. "Uh, do you wanna sit down?" he offered.

She smiled again and he almost smiled back when he remembered how weird the situation was. How did he know there wasn't a catch to this? He was dubbed as a nerd after all.

"Uh no, it's okay. I'll let you get back to your book." She smiled as she turned around, her skirt swishing in the wind. She sauntered away and turned back to him. "It's this Saturday, by the way!" she called before she walked off with her friends, most likely back to the 'popular' table.

His eyebrows remained furrowed as he recounted the exchange that just happened. He read over the address that was scrawled onto his palm and shook his head before going back to his apple and reading his book.

-.-.-.-.-.-..

"Dude what?" His friend Dez asked in disbelief as he sat up straight on Austin's couch.

Austin shrugged not seeing what was so hard to understand.

Dez's mouth still remained agape as his other friend Ethan piped in. "So let me get this straight. The hottest girl in school invited you to a party and you declined?" he asked incredulously.

"I didn't _decline_. I just told her I wasn't sure and said something about having to babysit Piper. She still gave me the details though." He said to his disbelieving friends.

Ethan snorted. "I can't believe you turned down _Ally Dawson_, to babysit Piper, who by the way is old enough to stay home alone."

"I didn't decline!"

"You basically did man." Ethan responded patting the blond.

"Whatever, the point is people like _Ally Dawson_ don't usually invite people like _us_ to things, which is why we _have_ to go." Dez pointed out and Ethan nodded.

Austin sighed. "I don't wanna go."

"Why not?" Dez questioned.

"I don't know, you said it yourself, people like Ally Dawson don't usually talk to people like me, what if this is some kind of joke or sick prank? Or what if they are luring me into a trap or something? It's sketchy."

"Who cares? We're going to a high school party, the first one ever! We have to go, it's part of the high school experience!" Dez responded.

Austin shrugged, still not convinced. "Maybe she likes you." Ethan responded and Austin looked up at him abruptly.

Dez grinned and joined in. "Yeah man. It's because you're hot now." Tired of being picked on for being too gangly, he decided to work out over the summer before entering their senior year. People did notice his noticeably bulkier arms and didn't pick up on him anymore, they just ignored him now.

"I bet if you lost those dorky glasses, more girls would talk to you." Dez continued.

"Yeah but none of those girls are Ally Dawson." Ethan sighed dreamily.

"Hey! Don't talk about Austin's girlfriend like that!" Dez joked before the two burst into laughter. Austin rolled his eyes.

"Face it dude, Ally Dawson _likes_ you!" Ethan grins.

Austin knows they're just kidding around but he can't help the lurching feeling in his stomach at the mention of Ally liking him. But he knows she doesn't like him like that. She can literally have any guy she wants and does not have to stoop to his level.

"Austin and Ally sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Dez sings before bursting into laughter.

"I bet lover boy wishes they were doing a lot more than kissing." Ethan mutters before he and the redhead burst into laughter.

"Hilarious." Austin deadpans. He chooses to ignore the part of him that wishes maybe Ally _did_ like him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.

The next day, his head whips up again as he hears a figure plop on the opposite side of him.

And to his surprise, it's yet again, Ally Dawson.

He looks around to see if anyone is nearby holding a camera or laughing and pointing but there's no one. He also looks by her usual table to see if there are no free chairs and that's why she joined him, but there were in fact free chairs. But even if there were none, Ally Dawson didn't move for other people, people moved for her.

He looked at her warily and confusedly above the top of his book. She had sat down as if it were the most natural and ordinary thing in the world. Her friends, Trish and Elliot, however added some reality to the situation as they hesitantly sat down and also were slightly confused.

A few cheerleaders and jocks also sat at the bench, filling it up. But those who were too concerned with their reputation stayed at the 'cool table'. But even the 'populars' that decided to join him didn't pay him any attention and talked amongst themselves. The only people that acknowledged him were the three across from him that sat down first.

He cautiously put his book down and looked over at Ally. "Hey Austin." She chirped and grinned.

He quirked a brow. "Hey."

She noticed his quirked brow and shrugged. "Thought, I should spice things up today." She said before placing a spoonful of food in her mouth.

He nodded, not really sure what to say. Elliot cleared his throat and broke the silence. "So Austin, you work at the bookstore, right?" he asked.

"Yeah." He nodded almost a little flattered that they knew that.

"Yeah we saw you there over summer reading to little kids." Trish blurts out and then winces in pain. "Ugh Ally why did you kick me?"

Ally gives her a silent glare. "Sorry, foot spasm." She shrugs.

Austin looks at them confusedly as he had never seen any of them come into the bookstore besides Ally as she's bought a couple books from the store. His face softens in realization when he assumes that maybe she told them about it, and he feels a flutter in his heart.

"Oh yeah, Ally has _definitely_ developed a _passion_ for reading over the summer." Elliot says laughing and Trish despite having a pain in her shin joins in. Ally gives them both a glare that Austin can't decipher.

Cassidy, a cheerleader, who has been on her phone since she sat down speaks up and Austin is pretty sure this is the first time she's ever acknowledged him. "Why do you always sit here alone? I know you have other friends." She asks not looking up from the screen.

"Um, Dez and Ethan have lunch in the computer lab." He states, he might as well let them acknowledge his friends too.

"Oh." She responds and the table gets silent again.

"Different book, from yesterday, I see." Ally pipes in, breaking the silence. She stretches her hand to toy with the paperback cover.

"Oh yeah, I read a lot." He says a little nervously since all heads turned to watch him, not that they haven't been throughout the whole lunchtime.

"I could see that." She smiles and looks back at the cover. His hand tingles as she touches the cover again and their hands rub against each other. He almost feels to close his eyes at the feeling.

"Is it good?"

"What?" he blurts.

She giggles and pulls her hand back to rest it on her lap. "The book. Is it any good? I've been meaning to find new reading material." She responds.

"Oh." He blushes slightly and clears his throat which does not go unnoticed by the smirking pair besides Ally, as well as some of the other patrons at the table.

"Yeah, it's really good." He states, he doesn't elaborate as he's pretty sure she's not actually interested in what he's reading.

"Cool. Maybe I'll borrow it when you're done or something." She smiles before taking a sip of her water.

"Sure." He responds before taking a sip of his own drink. He knows he's being short with his responses but he can't help but feel uncomfortable and a little wary about whatever is going on.

"I wasn't kidding when I said that Ally loved to read." Elliot pipes in.

Austin then looks over to the brunette that she didn't see any sign of joking on her face instead there was a shy smile as if she feared he may judge her. _Him_.

And Elliot seemed sincere so he decides to fully join in the conversation. If Ally wanted to really be his friend maybe he should make it a little easier for her.

"Maybe, sometime you could come to the bookstore and I could show you some good books. Give some recommendations." He offers sincerely.

Ally grins and nods. "I'd like that." She smiles and this time Austin can't stop himself from smiling back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Wait a minute, so Ally Dawson and her posse sat with you at lunch yesterday and we're just now finding out about it?" Dez inquires.

"Wait a minutes, so Ally Dawson sat with you at lunch and you didn't call me to join you?" Ethan asks frustratedly.

Austin rolls his eyes and closes his locker. "Yes, okay. Forgive me not telling you guys, the moment is still confusing and weird for me."

"So what did you guys talk about?" Dez asks as they walk down the hallway.

"Nothing much really, she asked me to borrow my book and I offered to show her around the bookstore."

"Oh how romantic." Ethen teases, nudging the blond. Austin again rolls his eyes.

"Um Austin why are we walking down this hallway, the exit doors are that way." Dez says confusedly.

"I know, but since Ally asked to borrow my book when I was done with it, I'm gonna give it to her now." Austin responds.

Dez and Ethan smirk and give him a knowing look. "What?"

"Nothing. We'll meet you by the exit, lover boy." They tease before walking off.

He walks over to Ally's locker and he isn't surprised to see there are a ton of popular people surrounding her.

His heart pangs though as he realizes that they were all laughing and listening to a story being told by the quarterback, Dallas Brooks. What has his heart panging though is that he has his arm slung over Ally's shoulders.

He doesn't remember Dallas sitting with them at lunch yesterday, so he assumes that he was one of those who were afraid to ruin their reputation.

After casting one last glance at the giggling brunette, he figures that he should save himself from potential embarrassment. He put his head down and walks away.

He meets up with his friends at the exit door and they eye the book in his hand confusedly.

"You didn't give it to her?" Dez asks and Austin shrugs.

"She probably left already." He responds and they nod as they start walking.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It's the day before the party, aka Friday, when he realizes that he has feelings for her.

After she didn't sit with him on Thursday and this lunch, he realizes that he misses her presence. Granted, it was sorta awkward when she first arrived, as the lunch went on he noticed that he liked the sound of her laugh and voice and how her dimple appeared when she smiled. And how her bubbly personality was genuine and not fake like he assumed.

That lunch he found himself not so enraptured in his book, but enraptured in _her_.

He felt kinda creepy staring at her as she sat at her usual table with her friends, but she just looked so _pretty_. And his heart skipped as he heard her laugh flutter all the way to his ears. He shook his head and tried to return to his book, cursing himself that he only managed to read half a chapter, instead of the five he managed to get through every lunch time, if left unbothered.

However, this time maybe he didn't mind being left bothered by the vision of Ally Dawson.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It's Saturday night, and just as he settles on his couch to watch his favourite show on his laptop, the doorbell rings.

He groans and sets his drink on a coaster before heading towards the door. He's not at all surprised that Dez and Ethan are there, dressed in attire that are not suitable for just lounging at his house.

They look at his shirt and sweatpants confusedly. "Dude why aren't you dressed for the party?"

Austin rolls his eyes before walking off, leaving the door open so they could follow him in. He had just spent ten minutes arguing with them on their text groupchat and he'd thought they'd finally given up, not gotten ready and waltzed all the way to his house only to convince him some more!

"Because I'm not going." he replies and they groan.

"Austin, we have to go to the party." Ethan states flatly.

"Yeah, you told Ally that you may not go because you had to babysit Piper. Where is Piper anyways?" Dez accuses.

Austin opens his mouth to answer but Dez cuts him off. "Exactly! She's at my house hanging out with Didi. Don't think I didn't see her on my way out." DE folds his arms.

"Right, so now you have no excuse for not going. Now, chop chop!" Ethan claps.

"You guys go, I'm staying here to watch the Electric Avenger." Austin states and the other two roll their eyes.

"One, you could watch that any time. And two, _you_ were the one invited, we're just your plus ones…or plus twos!" Dez responds.

"I don't even understand how _I'm_ invited!" Austin counters.

"And you'll never know, if you don't go!" Ethan responds.

"Why are we all yelling?!" Dez exclaims and Austin rolls his eyes.

"Austin, it's our senior year and we've never been to a high school party, far less, been invited to one. And now a giant golden beautiful ticket in the form of Ally Dawson has presented an opportunity to us… and you're just gonna stay home to watch _The Electric Avenger_?" Ethan says.

"Ally probably only said Ethan and I could come because it might get _you_ to go." Dez explains and Austin rolls his eyes again.

"Okay, girl crushes aside, we're finally invited to a high school party! I mean, come on Aus, what's the worst that can happen?" Ethan reasons.

Austin pretends to think then starts, "They could throw eggs at me, they laugh at me, I could get thrown into the pool, they could-."

"Have you been watching 90's rom coms again?" Dez asks confusedly.

"Hey, those movies are classics!" Austin defends.

"Yeah bro, enough of the Never Been Kissed." Ethan pats his shoulder.

"Hey, Drew Barrymore is a very talented actress!" Austin defends again."

"And _Ally Dawson_ is a very hot girl!" Ethan responds. "And if you keep up with this attitude, _you'll _never be kissed."

Austin rolls his eyes and sighs. Dez tries to reason with him. "Look, we're getting off topic here. It's a high school party, it's part of the experience. Let's just go check it out, and if you hate it we go home."

Austin sighs again.

The truth is, part of him really really wants to go to the party. And it's not the part of him that's scared that he would be humiliated by the popular crowd.

It's the part of him that knows that Ally would be there and he would get to see her, if even he doesn't talk to her just admiring her from afar is good enough for him given his social skills.

And he knows that it's cliché for the nerdy kid to have a crush on the popular girl, but here he is now and now that he's admitted it to himself, he's sure there's no going back. He had a crush on _Ally Dawson_.

And instead of staying home and pining and wishing he could see her, he was gonna do something about it.

"Fine." He sighs and Ethan and Dez gasp with excitement. "But the minute I say we're leaving, we're leaving." He states before ascending his stairs to change.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The idea of going to the party isn't such a fun idea now that the trio are standing staring at the two story house from the sidewalk.

"Do we _have_ to go in?" Austin asks as he stares at the house nervously. The duo don't respond and Austin just knows it's because they're nervous too.

They somehow drag their feet up the cobblestone pathway and up onto the front porch, in front of the door. They then stare at the door nervously.

"Um, do we knock or ring the doorbell?" Dez asks.

"I doubt anyone would hear it." Ethan replies. The music can be heard from the street and the thumping of the bass vibrates the door.

Austin chews on his lip, already dreading coming to the party. "Um so do we just-?" his thought is cut short, by the door swinging open and nearly knocking them away, but they move just in time.

A clearly drunk guy, that Austin recognizes from his Math class stumbles out, a concerned looking friend guiding him. The drunk guy's friend gives them a curt nod and instinctively leaves the door open behind him for the trio on the porch.

"Well we have to go in now, or we'll just be those three weirdos watching the party from the outside." Ethan states and Austin takes the first hesitant step inside as the other two follow.

Austin winces at how loud the music is and he also winces, expecting people to give him the '_what are you doing here?' _look. But as usual, no one pays attention to him, and he's slightly relieved at that.

There's so many people here. Almost too many people.

He recognizes most of the faces from school and some of them he's never seen in his life and it makes him wonder how one person could know so many people.

"So, what now?" he calls out over the loud music when he finds a pretty much empty area. He's not sure if he should go off looking for her. If he's scared to talk to her at school, where it's mandatory for him to attend, how is he meant to talk to her at her house party where a bunch of her friends are most likely _surrounding_ her.

"Um, let's find the alcohol." Ethan suggests and the other two shrug and follow him. After bumping into a couple people, they manage to find the kitchen, which is overly stocked with alcohol.

"Hell yeah!" Ethan cheers as he pours rum into a cup and diluting it with the coke and taking a sip and sighing in content. "Want some?" he offers Austin and Austin winces at the strong smell. Dez is fixing himself a similar drink.

Austin looks back into the party, seeing if he could pick out a head of brunette curls and bewitching brown doe eyes.

"Here Austin." He turns to see Ethan holding up cup of red liquid that reeks of alcohol. He gingerly takes it and eyes his best friend.

"Relax it's punch. It'll calm your nerves." He says as he takes a sip of his own drink.

Austin looks back down at the cup, looks back into the party. If everyone else is drinking it, it can't be that bad. He looks back down at the cup before taking one large swig.

It tastes fruity and it has a strong kick that Austin knows is the alcohol. He hums in appreciation. It's not _great_, but it's not bad either. He gulps the rest and sticks out his hand.

"It's good. Can I have another?" Austin hands the cup back Ethan.

"That's the spirit!" Dez cheers as he pats Austin on the back quite roughly and Austin thinks the alcohol may already be getting to him.

"You should go find Ally. She invited you after all." Dez suggests as he sips his drink.

Austin's stomach lurches at the mention of her name. He suddenly feels queasy and he's not sure if it's the punch or the thought of potentially embarrassing himself in front of her and _all_ of her friends.

"Can you guys find her for me?" he pleads and they eye him confusedly. "Please, you don't actually have to talk to her. Just tell me where she is and I'll go." He continues. "I just don't want to look like a complete loser just walking around looking for her."

"So you want _us_ to look like complete losers?" Dez asks.

"No-wha- please, you guys made me come here." Austin responds.

Ethan and Dez share a look before sighing. "This better end with you guys making out in a secluded corner." Ethan grumbles before exiting the kitchen.

Austin flushes at the vision that Ethan has created. "It's not like that!" he calls back as Dez chuckles and follows Ethan.

Austin feels a little looser now and he downs the rest of the punch before deciding to take it easy.

After five minutes of standing up alone, waiting for Dez and Ethan, Austin chews his lip and taps in his foot, unintentionally to the rhythm of the song.

To ease his mind and his nerves he decides to pour another cup of punch so doesn't look like a complete loser just standing aimlessly in the kitchen, alone.

As soon as he's finished pouring, the kitchen door swings open and Austin jumps slightly and nervously wonders if it's Dez and Ethan returning to tell him where she is.

He does want to see her but he's nervous to talk to her, even if the punch is calming his nerves.

However upon turning around, he recognizes that it's Gavin Young from his English class. He places a six pack of beer on the counter and proceeds to take one. Austin briefly stares at all the alcohol on the countertop and wonders where it'll all go when the party's over.

He then looks over to Gavin to see him sipping his beer, sighing in content and turning to watch Austin amusedly. Austin sips his punch trying to seem cool but on the inside, he's nervously wondering what Gavin would want to tell him, given that he's seen Gavin hang out with Ally and her crew a couple times.

"You're Austin right?" he asks. Austin is flattered that Gavin Young knows him. Austin nods and sips his punch. "Yeah we have English together."

"I've never seen you at any houseparty. How come?" Austin could tell that he's genuinely interested and not teasing him for being a loser.

Austin shrugs. "I've never been invited."

Gavin nods and motions his beer to the crowd. "If I'm being honest, I'm sure half of the people here aren't invited." He laughs and Austin chuckles along.

"Do you know where Ally is?" Austin blurts out and he thinks the punch is making him bold.

Gavin chuckles amusedly. "I take it you have a thing for the resident golden girl."

Austin blushes. "No. I just wanna know." He mutters and looks down at the contents of his cup.

Gavin chuckles again. "I don't know where she is, man. I just got here." Austin nods wondering why Dez and Ethan were taking so long.

Gavin places a hand on his shoulder. "But hey man, there's a packed crowd out there, dancing and having fun. You should go and have fun instead of being cooped up in here. And I'm pretty sure it'll be easier to spot Ally out there than in here." Gavin gives him a pointed look.

Austin gives him an unsure look. Even in his state, he still doesn't like being around much people.

Gavin shrugs and pats him on the shoulder before heading for the door. "It's a party. Have fun, my dude. But if I run into her, I'll tell her to come your way."

"Please don't, I don't wanna seem desperate!" Austin calls out after and he realizes how desperate he sounds just saying that. Gavin chuckles and leaves the kitchen.

He sighs and leans back onto the counter, sipping his punch. The song changes to a song that he actually recognizes. He then considers Gavin's statement of going out and having fun.

He downs that last of his drink and makes his way outside. Everything seems a bit hazy and he's not sure if it's the alcohol or the dimly lit living room.

He bops his head to the music and soon becomes bold enough to sway to the beat. Everyone is too into either dancing or making out to even acknowledge him and he is actually having fun.

The song ends and a new one begins. One that Austin doesn't recognize but he dances anyway.

He feels a tap on his shoulder and at first he doesn't acknowledge it as it's probably another dancer bumping into him.

However, he feels that tapping again and he turns around nonchalantly and confusedly wondering who could possibly want to talk to him.

He turns and his mouth drops and his eyes land on the starring figure of his thoughts for the past week.

Ally Dawson herself.

Naturally, his eyes focus on her gorgeous face. Her makeup is a little darker than what she wears to school and a dark pink lipstick adorns her lips. Her hair is a little more voluminous and frames her small face. She has on a white spaghetti strap crop top and a high-waisted silver sparkly skirt that stops by her mid-thigh. Even though not much of her body is showing, Austin could still see a sliver of skin where her top and skirt don't meet on her abdomen.

His eyes meet hers again and he blushes and he notices her grin, probably as she realized he was checking her out.

"I didn't think you were gonna come." She grins and he grins back.

"Yeah, my friends and I thought we should come to at least one high school party." He admits, leaving out the part where his friends forced him to come.

"You should, they're pretty fun. Especially if they're thrown by me." She jokingly brags. He chuckles and nods.

He looks around and whereas nobody paid attention to him before, now they're a lot of people looking at him. He just knows it has something to do with the girl right in front of him.

He looks down at his shoes, not liking the attention he's getting. Some are giving him the 'who invited you?' or 'why are you talking to Ally Dawson?' or just outright jealous looks from guys. He's glad though that most of them are probably too drunk to process what's going on right now.

She doesn't seem faltered by the attention, most likely because she's used to it, but he's not like her. He despises it. He feels all his nervousness resurface.

"Let's go somewhere to talk." She says comfortingly, sensing his discomfort.

He smiles and before he could respond, he hears a loud "Incoming!" before he gets hit by a football on his back, sending him not falling forward, but crashing into Ally and taking her to the floor, knocking over the speaker.

The scene is completely chaotic and he couldn't picture it going any worse.

The music stops and this time, everyone turns to look at him, with a disgusted or confused look.

He looks down at the girl who's beneath him expecting her to give him a similar look, however her eyes are filled with concern.

"I'm sorry Ally." He mutters ashamedly before hanging his head in embarrassment and standing up. Once he's off of her, he sees people rushing from different areas to help her stand and as usual they crowd her. She however, couldn't care less about the people surrounding her, asking her if she's alright.

Dez and Ethan glare at the source of the ball, who appears to be Dallas as he's trying his best not to laugh. "I said incoming." He says lamely before bursting into chuckles again. Next to him, Austin notices Elliot and Trish giving him disapproving looks.

He can hear a few snickers coming throughout the room but people are staring at him in shock and silence for the most part.

Austin pushes through the crowd of people as he makes his way to his friends who are thankfully near to the exit. "Let's go." He says and his friends don't fight him on it as they nod and follow behind him.

"Austin!" he hears call behind him but he doesn't turn around. He can't face another embarrassing situation.

Maybe she's calling him back to make him pay for the speaker. Or maybe he's calling her back for crashing into her and accidentally taking her to the ground. Or maybe she's calling him back to embarrass him further and laugh at him.

Whatever the case is, he looks forward and ignores her as he keeps walking. He makes it to the sidewalk and he's barrelling ahead, trying to get away as fast as he can. He can hear hurried footsteps behind him as his friends try to catch up to him.

"Austin!" he hears her voice call out to him and he wonders how she made it out of the house so fast given pretty much everyone had surrounded her.

"Austin!" he hears her call and he speeds up. If she's desperate for him to pay for her speaker, he'll give her the money on Monday. Right now he needs to lock himself in his room and shove his face into a pillow, away from society.

"Austin wait!" he hears again and Dez and Ethan are struggling to keep up with him.

"Austin, don't you think should slow down? I mean she followed you onto the damn sidewalk for Christ's sake." Ethan calls out.

"No." he grumbles, before he thinks better of it. Austin sighs and continues walking albeit much slower. He could hear her heeled feet clanking on the concrete as she rushes to catch up to him.

"Austin." He hears before he feels a hand grab his arm and turn him around.

"What? What do you want?" he spits and she flinches at his tone. "Why did you invite me here?"

Her eyebrows remain furrowed in hurt and confusion. "I-I thought you might like to come."

He narrows his eyes at her. "Really? It's not to publicly humiliate me or get your friends to make a fool out of myself to get a good laugh out of it." He spits.

She narrows her eyes in hurt. "What? Is that what you think of me? That I invited you to embarrass you?" she fumes.

"What an idiot." He hears one of his friends mutter but he ignores it.

"Yeah. Isn't that how you and your friends get your kicks, making fun if nerdy kids? Did you follow me out here to laugh in my face about it?" his nostrils flare as he glares at her and she glares right back.

"That's not why invited you asshole and that's not why invited you either." She spits.

"If it's about your speaker-."

"I don't care about the speaker. My dad owns a music store, I could get one of those for free if I really wanted to. I followed you to see if you were okay, but then you started acting like a dick."

He folds his arms and ignores the last part. "You followed me to see if I was okay?" he repeats as if he doesn't believe it.

"I don't get what's so hard to believe t-."

"Why?" he asks. It's the question that's been plaguing his mind for the past week now. She furrows her brow.

"What?"

"Why?" he repeats. "Why did you follow me to check up on me? Why did you even invite me here?"

She scoffs "I already told you. I thought you might like to come."

He shakes his head. "I find that hard to believe given that we barely talked before you just _approached_ me at lunch and invited me. Why did you suddenly take an interest in me?"

She looks at her shoes. "I don't know what you're-."

"Is it another one of your games?" he feels insecure and confused at the same time.

"Jesus Christ Austin, it's not a damn game! I would never intentionally embarrass you!" she looks into his eyes and he could see she genuinely means it.

"So what is it then?" he whispers and she groans.

"God I don't know-."

"Answer me, Ally! Why do you suddenly care about me?"

"Because I like you! Okay?" she yells and he freezes.

"Y-you like me?" he whispers.

"Yes okay." She looks down at her shoes shyly.

"_You_ like _me_?" he points. She rolls her eyes.

"Yes, Austin." She responds and looks into his eyes.

"Why?" he asks softly and she furrows her brows. "Why do you like me?"

"I don't know. I guess it's because…" she pauses. "You don't care about what people think of you. You know, how you read alone every singly lunch and even though people make fun of you for it, you just don't care." She shrugs.

He blushes as she continues. "Yet at the same time, you care about things that mean a lot to you, not to impress anyone but just because you're a caring person. Like how you look after your sister and…how you read to those kids at the bookstore. And how you always get so passionate in English class." She responds. She tucks a strand of hair behind her hair.

He looks at her incredulously, wondering how someone so _perfect_ can be into him. He really didn't think much of it, yet here was the most popular person in school, noticing a _nobody_ like him.

"And I think you're really cute with your glasses. And don't even get me started on your new muscles." She teases.

"Ha! Told ya!" he hears from behind him and he then remembers his friends are witnessing the whole thing.

"Ally I-I I like you too." He responds. She blushes and smiles bashfully at him.

"Really?" she responds.

"Yeah, I mean, I now see why half the school is in love with you. You're always so sweet and positive and beautiful and-."

Before he could continue, he feels a pair of soft lips crash onto his. He stands stunned for a moment before easily melting into it. His arms reach out to grip her face as he kisses her back deeply.

After a while they pull away and stare into each other's eyes. He still can't believe it.

She likes him.

_Ally Dawson_ likes him.

"No fair, I let you ramble." He mock pouts and she giggles cutely. Her dimple becomes displayed and he wonders how he hasn't liked her sooner.

"Well you can continue talking about what you like about me, when we go out on our first date."

He blushes and quirks a brow. "How's next weekend?"

She twists her mouth in thought and disappointment. "I'm actually having another party next weekend. It's Trish's birthday." She replies. "Speaking of, would you like to come to a party?" she teases as she replicates their first real encounter.

He smiles and shakes his head at her antics. Any other day, he would've said no, that they weren't his scene and he would feel uncomfortable.

But as he stares into the warm brown eyes of the girl he's been captivated by for the past week, he realizes that he would do pretty much anything for her.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Heyyy!**

**So school started back. (Eww.) So I will be busier.**

**Please please please REVIEW, lemme know what you guys think.**

**ALSO LEMME KNOW IF YOU WANT A SEQUEL. I would be down for that.**

**Go check out arysa13. Their amazing!**

**As for now, I have to go sleep to get up for school tomorrow, and by that I mean scroll through my phone for an hour so…**

**I'm out!**

**Peace!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys!**

**So you guys really liked this story and wanted a sequel. And honestly the original story is a one shot so I had no clue on what the sequel will be about.**

**But one day I was in the shower and I was like, what if it was from Ally's POV instead.**

**Hmmmm**

**Okay so I know it's not a sequel. In fact it's more like a prequel but oh well…**

**There WILL be a sequel. I just thought this would be cute.**

**Anywhoo, let's get on with the story, shall we!**

**I talk too much!**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..**

It's not that she hated school, it's just that she strongly agreed that summer break should be a _break_ from school and not spent doing homework!

Yet as her Senior year was approaching in less than a month, she decided to owe it to herself to maintain her stellar GPA as well as balance her social life. Being the _golden girl_ wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Her Literature teacher did his students a solid and actually told them what book they were doing for that semester beforehand so that they can jump right into teaching. But now that meant actually not enjoying her summer to the max as she had to read that stupid book!

Unlike the rest of her friends who scoffed at the idea to read the book beforehand, she found herself on her way to the bookstore downtown to look for said book.

The bells tinkled invitingly as she entered and she was surprised at the instant homely vibe the sorta retro store gave off.

She made her way over to the _American Literature _section of the store. She had been there a few times so she was quite familiar with the layout.

Her eyes briefly scanned the titles of the books only to see that the one she actually wanted wasn't there. Great.

She made her way to find a clerk. Her eyes registered a boy in an apron and she made her way over only to freeze in place slightly.

She knew him.

His blond hair stood out like a sore thumb in some of her classes. She had never really talked to him but she always admired how intellectual his responses were in class.

She chuckled slightly when she remembered how his nose was always stuck in a book at any given chance, so it would make sense as to why he worked here.

He was talking to a customer and he projected the same passion describing the book in her hands as he did in her Literature class. Speaking of…

She shook her head and made her way over to him as the customer made her way over to the cashier.

He jumped slightly when she appeared and his eyes widened in recognition behind his glasses, when he saw her.

"Oh hey, Ally." He smiled politely.

"Hey, Austin." She responded and his eyes flashed with surprise when she said his name, as if he didn't expect her to know it. "I didn't know you worked here." She continued, pointing to his apron.

His eyes flashed down to said apron. "Yeah, it's just a summer job to get some extra cash." She nodded.

"So, um, you need help with anything?" he rubbed the back of his neck.

She thought his shyness was cute.

"Oh yeah, actually. I was looking for that book that Mr Reid wants us to read for Lit."

"The Scarlet Letter." He finished and she nodded.

He smiled slightly and motioned for her to wait where she was. A few moments later he returned with said book in hand and she grinned in thanks.

"Thanks!"

"It's a great book." He said as he looked away from her and to a cart full of books behind her.

"You read it already?" she asked amusedly. Summer wasn't even that much over yet and he already completed their summer task.

"Yeah." He responded sheepishly.

"Ok, well I'll take your word for it!" she chirped and he smiled slightly in response before moving to repack the books in the cart.

She thought nothing of his dismissive behaviour, she knew he was quite shy.

But he somehow made her look forward to reading her dreaded literature book.

-.-.-..-.-.-

Austin was right. It was a great book.

In fact, her love for reading that she thought she had slowly lost had resurfaced and she found herself spending her summer days with her friends and her summer nights curled up in bed with her old novels from middle school.

Once she realized _Twilight_ and _Mortal Instruments_ weren't cutting it anymore she found herself in need of some new reading material.

The familiar bells tinkled as she entered and like a magnet she was drawn to the blond who was reading a book on a step ladder in one of the aisles.

"Hey Austin!" she greeted and he jumped slightly. She doesn't know why but it gives her a bit of satisfaction ever time.

"Hey Ally. Did you finish the book?" he lowered his own book to eye her curiously.

"Yep. And I loved it. I'm actually on the lookout for new reading material."

"Really? Oh well, there's a bunch of good novels sold here. You could j-."

"What do _you_ recommend?" she had a feeling he had a good taste in books.

He seems taken aback but she smiles slightly as his eyes light up. His eyes scan the shelves around him and he sighs in relief when he plucks a book from the shelf.

"Oh well, I really like this one." He hands it to her. "It has a little bit of everything in there, comedy, romance and tons of drama."

She chuckles and nods as she reads the summary at the back.

"Sounds interesting. Thanks Austin." She grins before making her way to the cashier. He smiles slightly in return before returning to his book.

He was a man of few words but that just made him more fascinating to her.

Her last time at the bookstore before summer was over, was a week after her last interaction with him.

She absolutely loved the book he recommended and she found she couldn't put it down. Even declining her friends' invitation to hang out once or twice to read, much to their dismay.

She was ready for new material already. She didn't know if her sudden interest in reading was from her old love reawakened or her interest in seeing him every time.

She was heading out to go back to the bookstore when her friends just pulled up in her driveway.

"A nice, 'Hey Ally, we're coming over' would've been nice." She rolled her eyes. Her best friends were Elliot and Trish.

She had many other friends given her reputation as the _golden girl, _and all her killer parties, but these two clowns were her ride or dies.

"Get in loser, we're going shopping!" Trish quoted from the passenger side.

Ally rolled her eyes but got in any way, knowing this was a fight she was _not _going to win.

"Ok, but I was actually on my way to somewhere." She grumbled.

"Well, we'll stop there first and then go shopping." Trish replied while applying a layer of lip gloss.

"Where were you going anyways?" Elliot inquired.

"The bookstore." She replied.

The car screeched slightly and Trish glared at Elliot as her lip gloss smudged.

He gave her a sheepish look before the two turned their attention to the brunette in the backseat.

"I'm sorry, did you say the bookstore?" Trish asked incredulously.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Yes, Trish is it so hard to believe that I actually read sometimes."

"Not willingly." She muttered.

"Well in case you forgot, school starts in a week and Mr Reid expected us to read The Scarlet Letter beforehand."

"Ha. Reid and read. Do you think he became a lit teacher on purpose?" Elliot joked.

Ally and Trish couldn't help but chuckle.

"But I thought you told me that you already got your copy of The Scarlet Letter. Why are you going back?" Trish eyes her curiously.

"Like I said, is it so hard to believe that I read non-school related books."

"Not since middle school." Elliot piped in.

"Yeah, why the sudden interest." Trish eyed her with a smirk, as if she knew something else was up.

"No reason." She shrugged as they pulled up in front of the store and her friends came out the car as well.

She entered the store and immediately went on the lookout for the blond to tell him about the book.

Trish and Elliot were boredly scanning the shelves behind her.

Ally walked up to the cashier who was tapping away at her phone. "Hey, is Austin in today?"

The cashier eyed her curiously before returning to her phone. "Yeah but he's reading to some kids in the back."

"Oh. Thanks." She replied before walking to the back of the store where some comfy looking couches were placed. She felt weird looking at him from behind a shelf but she smiled as he animatedly read to a group of just as eager looking kids.

"So that's why you wanted to come to the bookstore." Trish and Elliot smirked from behind her. Her friends' sudden appearance made her jump, nearly alerting the blond's attention to her.

"Partly." She admitted and blushed under her friends' knowing stares. "Doesn't matter, he's working anyway so I'll just have to fend for myself and find my own book."

And she has to admit, her book choice was pretty underwhelming.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.

She started to notice him more in school.

He was in some of her classes and she realized she found herself staring at the back of his head more.

She always found he was cute but now she found his shyness and intelligence quite endearing.

Normally, she was more into the jocks or the preppy boys that constantly came onto her. But maybe shy bookworms were more her preference now.

Or maybe it was just him.

She also noticed that despite, having two best friends that she frequently saw him with, he always sat alone at lunch times. On the furthest table away from the hustle and bustle of students and nose deep in a book.

She also now noticed that he had a sister.

It was after school when she was headed in Elliot's car and she spotted him with a shorter blond in tow.

The looked too similar to be anything else. Cassidy, one of her friends, and her little brother Kyle greeted her.

"Hey Als." She smiled.

"Hey Cass. Hey Kyle." Said boy blushed when she greeted him and waved in response.

Cassidy rolled her eyes before eyeing her friend curiously. "What you looking at?" she angled herself to see what she was looking at.

"Oh I've just never seen that girl before." She said.

"That's Piper Moon. She's in my physics class." Kyle piped in.

Ally sighed in relief. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when she first spotted them.

Ally also noticed that he walked her home every day and even though that was probably his job, she still found it sweet.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It was that time again.

Her father left at the almost the same time every couple months to go to some music convention.

Thus why Ally was known for her killer parties, she threw one every time he left.

It's not like he was completely oblivious though. He basically let her do whatever as long as she kept her grades up and didn't let anything go out of hand.

At lunch, she made her way to her usual table, making sure to pass to have a glance at the blond that has recently captured her attention. As per usual he was nose deep in a book and munched on an apple.

She headed towards her table in the very middle of quad. "Guess what guys? My dad is out of town!" everyone at the table hollered and cheered in response causing a few heads to peer at them curiously.

Ally glanced in the direction of the big oak tree to see if the blond looked too but he was too into his book.

"You guys know the rules. Bring whoever you want." And with that the majority of lunch was spent with them talking excitedly about the party.

"Do you think Austin would come if I invited him?" she said to Trish and Elliot while the others gossiped about whatever.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen him at your partied before." Trish responded.

"Yeah, but I've never formally invited him or directly asked him if he would come before."

"It wouldn't hurt to try. But I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, he seems to be more of a stay at home guy."

"Yeah, well that's gonna change." Ally stood up and everyone at the table eyed her curiously.

"Where are you going?" Elliot inquired.

"What does it look like? To invite him to the party." She made her way over.

"Now this I gotta see." Trish and Elliot grinned as they followed but stayed a good distance away.

Ally was never a nervous person, never had a reason to be. But for some reason this made the butterflies in her stomach flutter a little. Who knew that the first boy to ever make her feel that way was the school's deemed 'bookworm' or 'nerd'.

She cleared her throat slightly and smoothened out her skirt and put on her million dollar smile. She had a whole greeting planned out in her head but all that came out, upon entering was…

"Do you want to come to a party?"

As usual he jumped slightly upon her presence and his head snapped up so fast that she thinks she heard a click. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and he paused for a moment to swallow before replying.

"A party?" she tried not to giggle and instead nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you know, a place where people gather to drink and dance and stuff." She responds.

He huffs but she's not bothered by his attitude. "I know what a party is."

She quirks a perfectly plucked brow. "So?"

He paused for a moment and looked down at his book momentarily before refocusing on the brunette in front of him. "Um, I'm not sure. I have to babysit my sister most of the time." He replied.

"Oh." She was disappointed. She never had someone reject her before and she really wanted him there. But her dad always trained her to be an optimist.

She smiled at him and he looked up from his book warily. "Well, if you change your mind…" she motioned for his hand and he warily gave it to her.

She looked back to Trish and Elliot and motioned that they bring her pen. Elliot in his amused state ran forward and handed her one before returning to his spot with Trish.

"This is my address. It'll be lots of fun and there will be loads of alcohol. Bring friends if you like!" she chirped, knowing he might feel more comfortable if he brought someone there with him. She bent over and scribbled her address on his palm.

She stood upright and briefly followed his eyes to see he was looking at Trish and Elliot who watched the scene amusedly.

She bit her lip nervously. She was never not sure what to say with people as she considered herself a social butterfly. She fiddled with her hands as she wanted to talk to him but she wasn't sure what to say.

She didn't even know how she felt about him, all she knew was that he intrigued her and she wanted to know more. But she wasn't sure where to start…

"Uh, do you wanna sit down?" he offered scratching the back of his neck. She could tell he was slightly uncomfortable. Probably surprised that she was even there talking to him in the first place.

She smiled at him. She wanted to say yes and really get to know him. But she could see the discomfort in his eyes and she hated awkward situations. She best just leave him be.

For now.

"Uh, no, it's okay. I'll let you get back to your book." She smiled and turned to walk away. Not before turning back to him.

"It's this Saturday, by the way!" she called back before rejoining Elliot and Trish, who were trying, and failing, to hold in their laughter.

"What?" she pouted.

"Wow, Als. I've never seen you so tongue tied." Elliot snorted and Trish joined in his chuckling.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Shut up." She pouted before going back to their table.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-

It was the day after.

During lunch, she made her way into the quad, her lunch in hand and Elliot and Trish walking behind her.

"Ugh, who thought it was a good idea to put Mrs Gable before lunch. She always rambles on and on about her ex-husband and we always spend at least and extra ten minutes in class." Elliot grumbles as they make their way over to the table.

"Well at least it was only five minutes today. That's improvement." Ally responds and Trish rolls her eyes.

They hastily sit down, waiting to dig in to their lunch, when Ally's eyes were drawn to the magnet in the corner. She had thought her nervousness the ay before, was silly and if she wanted to know him, the best way was to actually _talk_ to him.

Before she could fully sit down, she stood upright causing everyone at the table to eye her curiously. "I'm sitting somewhere else for lunch today." She picks up her food thermos and drink.

"What did we do?" one of the populars asks sheepishly.

Ally shakes her head. "Nothing. I just feel like doing something else today. You guys can come or not." She tells the table before motions for Elliot and Trish to stand as well. Even though she wants to talk to him, she doesn't think she can do it alone.

Elliot and Trish hesitantly stand up with their lunches in hand and follow behind her. As suspected, some of the populars follow her as well. She doesn't know if it's because they're actually curious, or because they actually worship her. She rolls her eyes at the latter thought.

They seem to grow more hesistant and some even stop walking as they proceed towards the back bench. The one no one sits at, besides Austin.

She plops down on the opposite side of him and takes satisfaction in how his head whips up and his attention is stolen from his book. She catches his eyes as they drift confusedly towards her table, probably wondering why she sat by him instead of at her own table.

She looks behind to see her group trailing behind. And she mentally rolls her eyes as they all have identical confused faces and as they hesitantly sit down. _Way to be subtle guys_.

They all sit down, and for once this lonely bench is actually filled up. She understands why Austin likes this bench. It's away from the huge crowds and is actually quite peaceful. She used to grumble that it was sometimes too hot in their bench in the middle of the quad, given the Miami weather. But the big oak tree provided just enough shade and light for a cozy setting.

Maybe she needed to sit there more often.

She realized she had snapped into a daze at how beautiful the bench was that she hadn't even greeted him. Her friends were all in their separate conversations and Austin looked at all of them uncomfortably.

"Hey Austin." She greeted and opened her thermos.

"Hey." He responded warily and she sensed the confusion in his tone.

She noticed his quirked brow and shrugged. "Though I should spice things up today." She responded before shoving a spoonful of her dad's famous chicken alfredo into her mouth.

God, she loved chicken alfredo.

Elliot was the first to break the silence from beside her and he cleared his throat. She begged and pleaded with the gods above that he didn't embarrass her.

"So Austin, you work at the bookstore right?" he inquired.

For a brief second, something akin to admiration flashed across his face. "Yeah."

"Yeah we saw you there over summer reading to little kids." Trish responded with a mouthful of food.

Panic flashed across Ally's face as she remembered the day they were basically spying on him. He didn't know that they were there and he never saw Trish and Elliot there, so he would assume that Ally either told them he worked there or brought them along _after_ she told them he worked there.

She kicked Trish under the table for her outburst. "Ugh Ally, why did you kick me?" she whined and Ally mentally face palmed. Did this girl seriously need to voice _everything_?

She gives her a silent glare before sheepishly turning to look back at her thermos. "Sorry, foot spasm." She grumbles with a shrug. She doesn't meet the gaze of Austin who is no doubt still looking at them confusedly.

Elliot chuckles beside her and joins in on Trish's joking. "Oh yeah, Ally has _definitely_ developed a _passion_ for reading over the summer." Trish laughs out loud and Ally glares at the two. Why did she just know they were somehow going to find a way to embarrass her?

Cassidy, who came to her rescue, perked up from her seat yet still stared at the contents on her phone. "Why do you always sit here alone? I know you have other friends." She deadpans. And Ally would've scolded her for being so invasive, if she wasn't curious as well.

"Um, Dez and Ethan have lunch in the computer lab." He responds.

Ally then puts two and two together and concludes that the two boys that he always hangs around with are Dez and Ethan. She knows their faces and she's sure if she wracked her brain she would've figured out their names. She even thinks she has a class with Ethan, but she just remembers him as the boy who stares at her all the time…

"Oh." Cassidy responds and the table falls into an awkward silence again. Her friends still giving her confused looks as to why she chose to sit there.

Her eyes fall to the book that he is nervously toying with in his hands. "Different book, from yesterday, I see." She pipes in, breaking the silence. Before she thinks better of it, she reaches forward and grazes her fingers over the paperback cover to get a better look at the front.

"Oh yeah, I read a lot." He responds with a nervous chuckle.

"I could see that." She responds maybe a little too flirtatiously and maybe she blushes a little at all her friends staring at the exchange but who cares?

"Is it good." She really wants a new book and she doesn't trust herself to pick anything else.

"What?" he blurts out and she giggles at his jumpiness. She pulls her hand back and places it in her lap before she accidentally intertwines their hands like she kind of wants to.

"The book. Is it any good? I've been meaning to get new reading material." She confesses, hoping he would suggest something.

"Yeah, it's pretty good." He responds coolly.

"Cool. Maybe I'll borrow it when you're done or something." She sips her water.

"Sure." He replies and it falls into another silence.

Elliot jumped in again and Ally jumps slightly as she sorta forgot there were other people there. "I wasn't kidding when I said that Ally loved to read." He admits sincerely.

Ally smiles shyly and tucks a stray hair behind her ear and she twirls the contents in her thermos.

"Maybe, sometime you could come to the bookstore and I could show you some good books. Give some recommendations." He offers shyly.

She could hear Elliot's muttered 'You're welcome' as he sips his drink but she doesn't take notice of it. Instead she grins at the blond in front of her and nods.

"I'd like that." She smiles and she grins even wider when he smiles back.

"So did you find out if you could come to the party?" Trish questions and he sighs as he looks back down at his sandwich.

"I'm still not sure. My parents are out of town and I have to look after my sister." He replies. It's the excuse he gave her the first time and by the way he says it, it seems as though _he's_ even unsure of his own excuse.

"Piper right?" Ally asks. At this, Cassidy looks up and takes a good look at Austin. Ally sees the realization cross her face when she notices that this is the boy that she was looking at the other day.

Austin nods and sips his drink.

"Well bring her along then." She offers and Austin chuckles. She smiles at this.

"Nah, she's 14. I still want to preserve her from all the teenage hormones." He replies and Ally laughs. For a brief second she sees something akin to admiration cross his face.

She wants to say that she went to her first party at 14 but the over protective big brother behaviour is really affecting her.

"I think that's sweet." She smiles and he once again smiles back.

She then realizes that she loves his smile.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

As much as she wanted to sit with him at lunch the next day, she still doesn't want to appear as though she's bothering him. It doesn't stop her from casting glances at him every now and then.

"Ally, I swear you're going to break your neck if you keep looking at him." Elliot mutters.

"Yeah he hasn't changed position from reading that stupid book anyways." Cassidy responds, stabbing her salad with a fork.

Dallas looks up and glances in the direction of the blond. "Wait, you're into Aiden?"

"Austin." Ally corrects and rolls her eyes. Dallas could be a huge meathead sometimes and sometimes maybe he let his popularity go to his head, but she knew she was a sweetheart. She even briefly remembers liking him at one point.

Now shy bookworms were more her style.

"Whatever. I didn't know you were into him." Dallas mutters as he looks down at his sub.

"I'm not _into _him. I just wanna know more about him. _And_ I invited him to the party."

Dallas scoffs. "You sure he doesn't have a date with his precious book that night." He replies and a few people laugh but Ally glares at him.

"What? The dude's a loser Ally, he probably won't even show up. Probably be too scared to hang with the big kids." He concludes. And Ally takes back ever calling him a sweetheart.

"God Dallas, no need to be such a dick." Trish jumps in and Elliot nods also sending a glare to Dallas.

"Yeah, he's not a loser. He's sweet and smart." Ally replies and Dallas furrows his brows.

"Yeah, the dude's in my English class, and he's pretty cool." Gavin speaks up from beside Dallas. Ally thankfully smiles at him.

"Whatever." Dallas grumbles and shrugs as he changes the topic. Ally wants to scream and yell at him but instead she stays quiet for the rest of the lunch.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Do you really think Austin would let me borrow his book?" Ally asks Trish as they walk down the hall on their way to her locker.

"What?" Trish furrows her brow in confusion.

"You know? The book he told me I could borrow when he's finished." Ally replies pointedly and Trish's face is still blank.

"Does the conversation at lunch yesterday, not ring a bell to you?"

"Oh. Right. But Ally do you think he's some kind of superhuman and actually finished that thick ass book in a day?"

"Whatever. I just hope it wasn't an empty promise when he offered to recommend some books at the bookstore." Ally unloads some of the books from her locker into her bag.

Trish pats her on the shoulder. "I don't think it was an empty promise." Ally blushes and little by little, her group of friends gather by her locker, as they usually do after school.

"What are we talking about?" Elliot ruffles the two girls' hair and they huff in response.

"Ally and her crush, Austin." Trish responds with a smirk and Elliot also smirks as they look at the blushing brunette.

The previous night she had the revelation that she had a crush on Austin. She sent a text revealing this to her two friends at 3am and all they do was complain about how she was waking them up with stuff they already knew.

The conversation ends there as more people gather and soon her group takes up almost the whole hallway. At least it's after school.

"Hey Ally cat!" Dallas calls out and Ally sighs. She's still mad at his comment yesterday.

"Yes." She responds icily.

"Hey don't be like that." He drawls and swings and arm over her shoulder. He sighs. "I'm sorry about the comment I made about Austin yesterday." She looks up at him to see that he was looking at his shoes. "You know I was just kidding around right? I don't actually think he'll blow you off just like that." he adds and Ally sighs.

She looks back up and sees his quirked brow. He ruffles her hair and she chuckles. Ok sweetheart Dallas was back.

With his arm still swung around her shoulders, he starts to tell them a story about what happened to him in gym class that day.

She still doesn't know if she fully believes that he's joking, but at least his story is pretty funny.

And amidst all the laughter, she swears she sees Austin out of the corner of her eye. But when she turns to look, there's no one there.

Wow, she had it bad.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The party is in full swing and Austin has yet to appear.

She nervously runs to her bedroom to pace, her two best friends in tow.

"Ally calm down, he's gonna show up." Trish sighs exasperatedly as she looks at the nervously pacing brunette.

"Is he though? What if Dallas had a point, what if he would blow me off because he doesn't think this is his scene?" she nervously applies another layer of lipgloss.

Elliot is sipping on a can of beer and Trish is fixing her makeup. He leans against the doorframe and watches her. "First of all, are you really listening to dickhead Dallas? The dude's obviously jealous." Ally turns and scoffs at this and turns back to primp her hair. "Second of all, even if he doesn't show up, it's not the end of the world. You can talk to him at school or at his sacred bookstore." He smirks at the last part.

"Yeah, Als I mean he did promise to _show you around, give you some recommendations_." Trish smirks devilishly and Elliot snickers behind her.

Ally blushes. "Stop. You know that's not what he meant."

"Is it though?" Elliot pretends to think and Ally rolls her eyes good naturedly.

"Look as fun as it is talking about you and blondie _getting it on_ in the bookstore, there's a whole party downstairs waiting for their host to stop ducking away into her bedroom to pace." Trish exclaims.

"It's my party and I can pace if I want to." Ally responds but agrees with her latina friend.

"Come on Als, let's have some fun!" Elliot cheers, lifting up his beer and swings an arm over her shoulder.

Ally nods and walks back downstairs.

They're right. She shouldn't spend her whole night worrying about if Austin will come or not. And even if he doesn't, she'll talk to him at school or at the bookstore.

She accepts the drink given to her from Cassidy and chugs it down, her friends cheering from around her. Dallas rests his arm on his shoulder, sipping his beer with a ball in his hand, no doubt from playing ball with the boys outside.

"Man, where's Gavin with the beer? We're almost out." Dallas looks into his almost empty can.

As if on cue, Gavin strolls up to the crew with a smirk on his face, as if he knows something they don't. He sips his beer smugly.

"What's up with you?" Dallas quirks a brow.

Gavin looks towards Ally and she furrows her brows. "I just had an encounter with someone _very_ interesting in the kitchen."

"No way, was it the hot transfer from Germany?" Dallas perks up. Gavin shakes his head and looks back at Ally who is still confused.

"I bumped into Austin when I went into the kitchen and he was actually looking for you." He admits.

Ally's eyes widen and her heart speeds up. "No way! He's here?" she gasps and Gavin nods. Dallas noticeably slumps beside her, his arm on her shoulder slightly tighter as he plays it off as if he's looking at the contents in the can.

"I told him to have fun though, so he may not be in the kitchen anymore." Gavin adds and Ally hands her cup over to Trish, who gladly accepts it. Dallas gives Gavin a slight glare and watches as the brunette excitedly bounds away from under his arm.

Ally walks around looking for the blond. She first checks the kitchen, where Gavin last saw him. People naturally move out the way for her and she's slightly grateful because she's on the move right now.

She almost doesn't recognize him at first. He's wearing casual clothes like what he normally wears, yet somehow she can't help admire how hot he looks in his red flannel and blue jeans. Ugh, the way the flannel is tight around his biceps!

She also doesn't recognize him, because he's dancing and she's never seen him do that. What makes her even happier is that he looks like he's having fun. She was worried he would be uncomfortable all night.

She takes a deep breath and makes her way over to him and taps him on the shoulder. At first he doesn't turn around and continues dancing. She taps him a little firmer and at first he confusedly whips his head around, but his eyes instantly widen in recognition when they settle on her. His mouth drops slightly and she fights the urge to giggle.

His eyes roam over her outfit, before returning to her face. She grins when she realizes that he's checking her out. Similarly to what she was doing to him, seconds ago.

"I didn't think you were gonna come." She smiles and she's pleased to see that he smiles back. From his easy-going grin, she could tell he had a few drinks.

"Yeah, my friends and I thought we should come to at least one high school party." He admits and Ally is pleased with his response.

"You should, they're pretty fun. Especially if they're thrown by me." She jokes, flipping her hair. He chuckles and her heart flutters at the sound.

He scratches the back of his neck, a tendency of his she realized he does when he's nervous. He shyly looks around and she follows his gaze.

A lot of people are looking at the pair. And she winces at the obvious confused or outright jealous faces of some of the partygoers.

She didn't pay attention at first as she was used to all the stares and attention. But she knew he _hated _it.

She clears her throat and places a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go somewhere to talk." He smiles and opens his mouth to respond, when suddenly there's an exclamation "Incoming!" and he comes crashing into to her, taking her to the ground with him and inevitably crashing into the speaker.

She winces slightly in pain, but she's more focused on the source of the chaos and if Austin is okay.

Silence consumes the party and she hears confused or angry murmurs all round because of it. She looks back into the eyes of the blond who is still on top of her, probably too shocked or embarrassed to move.

She should be mad that he knocked her over and potentially ruined her speaker, but she knew it wasn't his fault. And frankly the scared look in her eyes causes her to be more concerned than disgusted.

"I'm sorry Ally." He mutters ashamedly and her heart breaks then. He hangs his head and stands up. She isn't even concerned with getting up, she just wants to comfort him. However, people from all round rush to her aid, and lift her up, inevitably pushing themselves in between her and Austin.

"_Ally, are you alright?"_

"_Did you break something?"  
"My dad's a doctor, I can take you to him."_

"_Are you okay?"_

"_Don't worry, it's all his fault."_

"_Do you need me to get you something?"_

More and more people swarm around her, and while the attention usually flatters her, she couldn't care less about the people surrounding her.

She manages to see above the heads of patrons and she catches onto Elliot and Trish glaring at Dallas. Her eyes narrow in on him and she sees him tossing that stupid ball up into the air nonchalantly.

She's suddenly all too aware of the source of the commotion.

He shrugs and the dick has the audacity to hold back a laugh. "I said incoming." He says lamely and a few people snicker in response and Ally has the sudden urge to shove that stupid ball up his…

Her thoughts are interrupted when she sees Austin walk up to his two friends, who she'd just noticed were there and disappointment flooded through her when she could clearly hear him mutter through the silence of the room. "Let's go." They nod and follow him.

"Austin!" she calls out. No, he can't leave like this. Why did Dallas have to ruin everything?  
However he continues walking and she pushes through the crowd of people, uncaring of who is in her way. She stops in front of Elliot and Trish.

"Hey can one of you play music from your phone or something, there's a mini speaker in my room." Trish nods and heads upstairs to retrieve it.

"Hey you okay?" Elliot asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going after him, to make sure he is though." She responds and Elliot nods. She hears a scoff from behind her and her eyes narrow when she realizes who it is.

"Ally are you seriously chasing after him right now? I mean, the guy not only ruined the party but he's a massive dork." Dallas spits.

Ally glares at him. "He's not a dork, he's a really nice guy, who I happen to really like, so get over it." She could hear gasps echo throughout the still quiet living room. "And secondly, he didn't ruin the party, you did. And I think you should leave."

"Ally, I-."  
"Hey man, she said to leave." Elliot threatens and he nods to Ally as if telling her to go after Austin and he'll take care of it. Ally nods back and runs out of the house, which she never noticed was so cramped with people until then.

"Austin!" she yells, hoping he didn't get too far. She sighs in relief when she sees him in the distance.

"Austin!" she calls again and he noticeably speeds up, and she sprints as fast as she can in her high heels.

"Austin wait!" she calls again and she just about makes out one of his friends telling him to slow down.

His friends stop and she realizes it's to let her pass to get to him and she runs up to him and grabs his arm, ultimately stopping him. "Austin." She says finally.

"What? What do you want? Why did you invite me here?" he spits out with a harsh tone that causes her to flinch.

Why was he being like this? She didn't know if to feel more hurt or confused. "I-I thought you might like to come."

He narrows his eyes. "Really? It's not to publicly humiliate me or get your friends to make a fool out of myself to get a good laugh out of it." She could hear the lingering shame and hurt in his voice but she's more hurt that this is what he thinks of her. As a bully.

"What? Is that what you think of me? That I invited you to embarrass you?" she fumes.

"What an idiot." She hears his friend mutter and she can't help but agree. This isn't the Austin she knows, this Austin is being a jerk.

"Yeah. Isn't that how you and your friends get your kicks, making fun of nerdy kids? Did you follow me out here to laugh in my face about it?" he glares at her and she returns it. She can't believe this is how he sees her.

"That's not why I invited you asshole and that's not why I followed you either." She spits. Why was he being like this?

"If it's about your speaker-."

"I don't care about the speaker. My dad owns a music store, I could get one of those for free if I really wanted to. I followed you to see if you were okay, but then you started acting like a dick." She purses her lips and he scoffs slightly.

He folds his arms. "You followed me to see if I was okay?" he repeats as if he doesn't believe it.

She rolls her eyes, this is getting repetitive now. "I don't get what's so hard to believe t-."

"Why?" She furrows her brow in confusion.

"What?" What did he mean why?

"Why?" he repeats. "Why did you follow me to check up on me? Why did you even invite me here?"

She scoffs "I already told you. I thought you might like to come."

He shakes his head. "I find that hard to believe given that we barely talked before you just approached me at lunch and invited me. Why did you suddenly take an interest in me?"

She looks at her shoes bashfully. She doesn't even know the answer to that. One minute she was normal and then the next, it's like everything he did stood out like a sore thumb to her, even if they barely talked. It was like a switch flipped and suddenly she was so interest in him and one thing led to another and now she had a crush on him.

"I don't know what you're-."

"Is it another one of your games?" he says insecurely.

"Jesus Christ Austin, it's not a damn game! I would never intentionally embarrass you!" She groans and looks into his eyes. His gaze softens from the previous accusatory one.

"So what is it then?" he whispers and she groans again. Why was he being so stubborn?

"God I don't know-."

"Answer me, Ally! Why do you suddenly care about me?" he raises his voice again.

"Because I like you! Okay?" she yells and he freezes as does she.

Well, it's out there now. No going back.

"Y-you like me?" he whispers.

"Yes okay." She looks down at her shoes shyly.

"You like me?" he points. She rolls her eyes.

"Yes, Austin." She responds and looks into his eyes.

"Why?" he asks softly and she furrows her brows. "Why do you like me?"

She could see the insecurity behind his eyes and her gaze softens. Did he really think that it was impossible for someone to like him? Is that how he saw himself? Maybe that's why she was so intrigued by him. He was never one of those who thought highly of themselves and went out of their way to make people like them. She was surrounded by those types of people all her life and it was so refreshing to see a change. There were only so few people who she knew like that.

But that didn't mean, he had to feel like it was impossible for someone to have a crush on him.

"I don't know. I guess it's because…" she pauses. "You don't care about what people think of you. You know, how you read alone every singly lunch and even though people make fun of you for it, you just don't care." She admits.

He blushes as she continues and she finds it very endearing and cute. "Yet at the same time, you care about things that mean a lot to you, not to impress anyone but just because you're a caring person. Like how you look after your sister and…how you read to those kids at the bookstore. And how you always get so passionate in English class." She responds. She tucks a strand of hair behind her hair, another nervous habit of hers. He seems to have that affect on her.

He looks at her incredulously, yet adoringly at the same time. She flushes under his gaze but continues.

"And I think you're really cute with your glasses. And don't even get me started on your new muscles." She teases and he smirks.

"Ha! Told ya!" she hears from behind her and she laughs. She had completely forgotten they were there.

"Ally I-I I like you too." He responds. She blushes and smiles bashfully at him.

"Really?" she responds. Why did he like her? He always gave off the vibe that she was annoying him.

"Yeah, I mean, I now see why half the school is in love with you. You're always so sweet and positive and beautiful and-."

That's all the validation she needs to grab him by the flannel and pull him down to crash his lips onto hers. He stands stunned for a moment before easily melting into it. His arms reach out to grip her face and hers move from their tight hold on his shirt to wrap around his neck as he kisses her back deeply.

After a while they pull away and stare into each other's eyes. She still can't believe that he likes her back.

The notorious school bookworm likes her back.

"No fair, I let you ramble." He mock pouts and she giggles in response. How had she not liked him sooner?

"Well you can continue talking about what you like about me, when we go out on our first date." She teases and his eyes widen and she smirks.

He blushes and quirks a brow. "How's next weekend?"

How was next weekend? She thinks for a moment and then she remembers it Trish's big 18th party.

"I'm actually having another party next weekend. It's Trish's birthday." She replies. "Speaking of, would you like to come to a party?" she teases as she replicates their first real encounter. It feels like so long ago.

He smiles and shakes his head and she smiles as they continue to embrace each other.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." She smiles in response as she stares into his warm hazel eyes.

She can't help herself but to kiss him again. More softly this time.

As they pull away she rests her forehead against his. They are broken out of their trance when she jumps at the holler behind them and she once again remembers that his friends are right there.

"You wanna take a walk?" she offers and he chuckles.

"Don't you have a party to get back to?"

She actually forgot about that. "Eh, I've been to a million and they all go the same. Also, Trish and Elliot are taking care of it." She shrugs. "Plus, you are way more interesting than any party."

He blushes again and she kisses his cheek. "I'm sorry about running your party." He scratches the back of his neck.

She purses her lips. "It's really not your fault. Dallas is a dick and I can't believe it took me so long to notice that."

Austin nods but still warily and she grabs his hand. "Okay forget about that. Are you up for a walk?" she asks hopefully. She's not ready for this night to be over yet.

He blushes. "I'd love to." She smiles. "And this is the perfect time to take you on that tour of the bookstore."

She furrows her brow. "It's almost 11. The bookstore is closed."

He smirks. "Not if you have a key." He smiles. "What do you say?"

She smirks back and she can't resist giving him a peck on the lips. She has a feeling it would be hard to resist him. "I'd say lead the way."

As he holds tightly onto her hand and races down the sidewalk laughingly with his friends waving behind her. There's only one thing on her mind.

There's so much she wants to know about Austin Moon.

And she can't wait to find out.

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

**Boom! A prequel/ sequel**

**There will be a sequel. I really enjoyed writing from Ally's POV but Austin's POV is more fun, in this case. So lemme know which POV you want it in, and leave any suggestions to put in the sequel because I'm kinda having a writer's block rn. I mean I have ideas but… idk.**

**Also, which pair of best friends would you rather have, Dez and Ethan or Elliot and Trish? Lemme know in the reviews section!**

**I honestly don't know who I prefer, they are both fun as fuck to write and they're all great in their own ways. So lemme know!**

**Please leave a review!**

**I will be writing more as I'm home for almost a month due to schools being closed down. On that note, please stay safe and take all that proper health precautions to stay healthy!**

**More to come to stick around.**

**As for now I'm out!**

**Peace!**


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